MDRC
Measuring Academic Behaviors at Scale: Developing Longitudinal Measures of “Noncognitive” Skills Using Administrative Data and Examining Predictive Validity
Academic behaviors, as reflected in administrative indicators such as attendance and suspensions, are widely used in education research. However, limited guidance exists on how to measure them longitudinally and at scale. Using longitudinal data from Boston Public Schools students followed from… more →
An Applied Researchers’ Guide to Estimating Effects from Blocked Cluster Randomized Trials: Estimands, Estimators, and Estimates
Blocked cluster randomized trials (CRTs) are widely used to evaluate educational interventions. In such trials, researchers face critical choices about how to define and estimate the average treatment effect (ATE). These choices—both the estimand (e.g., person- vs. cluster-weighted) and the… more →
Predicting Persistence and Fadeout Across Multi-Site RCTs of an Early Childhood Mathematics Curriculum Intervention
This study examined predictors of persistence and fadeout across multiple cluster RCTs that evaluated a preschool mathematics curriculum. We used meta-analytic methods to explore how impacts on student mathematics achievement faded between post-test (i.e., endline) and one-year follow-up. We… more →
Comparing Machine Learning Methods for Estimating Heterogeneous Treatment Effects in Randomized Trials: A Comprehensive Simulation Study
This study compares 18 machine learning methods for estimating heterogeneous treatment effects in randomized controlled trials, using simulations calibrated to two large-scale educational experiments. We evaluate performance across continuous and binary outcomes with diverse and realistic… more →
Impacts of Oversubscribed Boston Pre-K Programs through Middle School
In this pre-registered study, we explored the impacts of Boston Pre-K on children’s educational trajectories, school progress/engagement, and academic achievement in late elementary and middle school using lotteries for oversubscribed schools in 2007-2011 (N=3,092 students; 24% of all applicants… more →
Instructional Alignment is Associated with Sustained Benefits of PreK
This study uses implementation fidelity data from PreK to 1st grade in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) to measure instructional alignment and examine whether stronger alignment is associated with sustained benefits of BPS PreK on children’s language, literacy, and math skills through first grade… more →
Forging a path to college persistence: An experimental evaluation of the Detroit Promise Path program
Detroit students who obtain a college degree overcome many obstacles to do so. This paper reports the results of a randomized evaluation of a program meant to provide support to low-income community college students. The Detroit Promise Path (DPP) program was designed to complement an existing… more →
Lottery-Based Evaluations of Early Education Programs: Opportunities and Challenges for Building the Next Generation of Evidence
Lottery-based identification strategies offer potential for generating the next generation of evidence on U.S.
Mixed-Delivery Public Prekindergarten: Differences in Demographics, Quality, and Children’s Gains in Community-Based versus Public School Programs across Five Large-Scale Systems
Nearly all states with public prekindergarten programs use mixed-delivery systems, with classrooms in both public schools and community-based settings. However, experts have long raised concerns about systematic inequities by setting within these public systems. We used data from… more →
Higher-Quality Elementary Schools Sustain the Prekindergarten Boost: Evidence from an Exploration of Variation in the Boston Prekindergarten Program’s Impacts
While there is a consensus that attending preschool better prepares children for kindergarten, evidence on the factors that sustain the preschool boost into the early elementary years is still emerging. To add to this literature, we use lottery data from applicants to oversubscribed… more →